Abul Hasan, grasp it with the hand of a determined man!

For you are most suitable for this much‑coveted office.

He then cried with a loud voice: “O sons of Hashim, sons of `Abd Manaf, would you accept Abu Fasil (that is, Abu Bakr), a despicable man and son of a despicable man, to rule over you? By Allah, if you so wish, I will fill the place for you with horses and men! ” The Commander of the Faithful called out to him: “Go away Abu Sufyan, for by Allah, you do not mean what you say. Rather, you continue to plot against Islam and its people. We are still preoccupied with the Apostle of Allah. To every man shall belong what he has earned, and he alone shall be responsible for what he has done.”

It is reported that the people of Quraysh sent for `Ikri­mah ibn Abi Jahl and his uncles al‑Harith ibn Hisham and others and appointed them leaders of armies destined for Yemen and Syria, to which they were dispatched on that same night. They likewise sent for Abu Sufyan, whom they silenced by appointing Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan as a provincial governor.

It is reported that when people pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr, he was advised to recall Usamah's army and use it against any of the Arab tribes which might rise up against him. Most of the Immigrants had joined Usamah's army. Usamah asked Abu Bakr : “What would you yourself say?” He answered: “You see what the people have decided! I request that you exempt me and `Umar.” Usamah assented: “I shall exempt you.”

It is reported that no sooner had Usamah reached Syria than Abu Bakr dismissed him and appointed Yazid ibn~ Abi Sufyan as leader in his place. Thus only forty days elapsed between Usamah's departure from Medina and his return to it. When he arrived, he stood at the door of the mosque and declared: “O Muslims, I marvel at a man over whom the Messenger of Allah had set me as leader, yet who now sets himself up as commander over me and dismisses me! ”